Golf games
Rules and explanation onlyReverse scramble (Florida, Miami)
Also called Reverse scramble, Florida scramble, Miami scramble, Step-aside scramble, Worst ball scramble.
A reverse scramble is a scramble played from the worst shot rather than the best. Its cousins change who hits next instead: in a Florida scramble the player whose shot is chosen sits out the next stroke, and a Miami or step-aside scramble does the same. All three change how the hole is physically played.
- Players
- Teams of 2 to 4, one ball in play
- Reverse
- The team plays every stroke from its worst shot
- Florida
- The player whose shot is chosen sits out the next stroke
- Miami (step-aside)
- Same sit-out rule, sometimes with the drive excepted
- Kind of thing
- An outing format, not an overlay on a normal round
How the three scrambles differ
In an ordinary scramble every player hits, the team picks its best ball, and everyone plays the next shot from there. The three variants here each bend that rule and change what the players physically do, which is why they are formats an outing is played in, not games layered on a normal round.
A reverse scramble picks the worst shot instead of the best. Every drive counts, because the team plays from wherever the weakest one finished, and the game becomes a test of the least reliable player. It is usually played for fun or as a one-off, since scores are high and a single bad swing rules the hole.
A Florida scramble keeps the best-ball choice but removes a player from the next stroke: whoever hit the chosen shot stands aside while the rest play. With four players the second shot is a three-ball scramble, and if the same player's ball is chosen again the third shot is played by the other three. A Miami scramble, also called step-aside, is the same rule under a different name; some clubs exempt the drive so the sit-out only starts from the second shot.
Why the sit-out matters
In a plain scramble the best player can carry a team on every shot. The sit-out breaks that. A team whose star drives every fairway has to play its second shots without the star, so the weaker players' approach shots decide the hole. Over 18 holes the difference between a strong team and an average one is much smaller than in a straight scramble, which is the point.
The common tactic is to let the best player hit last from the tee so the team can decide whether a safe drive from someone else is good enough to keep the star in play for the approach.
Handicaps
Scrambles are handicapped as a team, usually with a percentage of each player's Course Handicap™ weighted by ability. The Florida scramble page states the allowance Parful applies. A reverse scramble is almost always played gross, since it is not meant as a serious competition.
What Parful does
Parful does not score any of these as a side game, and never will: they are not overlays that can sit on top of an official round, because they change which ball is played and who plays it. A group cannot play a Florida scramble inside a stroke play outing.
The Florida scramble is available as a competition format, chosen when the outing is set up, and the format page explains how Parful runs it. The reverse and Miami versions are explained here and not run. This page describes the common form of each.
Worked example
A worked example: one par 4 under each rule
Four players drive on a par 4. The table shows where each ball finished and which one the team plays from under each variant, then who hits the second shot.
| Player | Drive | Plain scramble | Reverse scramble | Florida scramble |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ana | 240 yards, fairway | Not chosen | Not chosen | Not chosen; hits second shot |
| Ben | 260 yards, fairway | Chosen; all four play from here | Not chosen | Chosen; Ben sits out the second shot |
| Cal | 215 yards, rough | Not chosen | Not chosen | Not chosen; hits second shot |
| Dee | 180 yards, bunker | Not chosen | Chosen; all four play from the bunker | Not chosen; hits second shot |
- In the Florida scramble, if Ana's approach is chosen next, Ana sits out the putt and Ben comes back in.
- In the reverse scramble every player is trying to avoid being the worst ball, which is a very different tee shot from trying to be the best.
Common variants
- Drive excepted
- The sit-out rule starts from the second shot, so all four players always drive. This keeps the tee shot competitive and is the most common Miami reading.
- Minimum drives
- Each player's drive must be used a set number of times, often three or four in 18 holes. Combined with the sit-out it stops a team from leaning on one player. The Florida scramble format page states how Parful handles minimum drives.
- Reverse for one nine
- Some societies play a normal scramble on the front and a reverse scramble on the back to keep the scores sensible while still having the fun. It is scored as two separate nines.